Microsoft Studios creative director Adam Orth recently tweeted about his feelings on devices being “always on”. He expresses that people without internet should “get with the times“. Furthermore, he disregarded users who are in rural areas that don’t have a stable internet connection.
Check out the tweets below…
Quite a view there. Even if he was just joking, it doesn’t show a very customer oriented way of thinking. Comments like this tweet certainly back the rumors that Xbox Next/Xbox 720/Durango, or whatever it will be called, will be always online. The reason for this is likely DRM related.
Another developer also mouthed off on a gaming forum which hints at the next gen console requiring internet connectivity…
Kotaku also posted yet another rumor article, this one claiming that anonymous developers have confirmed the Xbox Durango will require an always on connection. Furthermore, it will have a time out limit of 3 minutes. This means, if your connection drops and 3 minutes elapses before it picks up again, your game will end.
With nightmares like Diablo III being unplayable for many gamers for a day or 2 after launch and SimCity’s week long disaster, Microsoft better have some pretty magical servers if they intend to let gamers actually play the games they buy. On the other hand, the console isn’t out yet. There’s still time; companies try out many things before they finalize a product. Microsoft is expected to officially announce the next Xbox/Durango sometime in May or June.